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All artwork and text is copyrighted by Frederick Gardner, unless otherwise attributed to the respective copyright owner, it is illegal to publish or print any such artwork or text without written permission by the artist or copyright owners.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

"West In Pieces" was the last episode (#606) of The Powerpuff Girls. I had the GREAT opportunity to design all of the backgrounds for the finale to a terrific series. This episode was very different from any prior, because it takes place in the Old West and the characters are all reimagined for the 1860s period. I really enjoyed redesigning all of the iconic locations with a western influence. I worked with the great storyboard artist, Chris Reccardi and background painter, Chris Rozak to design the look which I describe as a "Western Little Golden Book". This episode aired as a Season 6 (Episode 7) cartoon on July 30, 2004 as a rare 2 part... most episodes were :11 min each.

I had a little extra time to take the background designs to a new level of refinement that I really didn't have time to attempt before. I laid out most of the backgrounds to the character poses in Chris Reccardi's board and I took time to render almost every drawing!

Everything in the city of Townsville is made out of wood planks and riveted steel. I really pushed the look of the clouds to resemble the embroidered motif on western shirts.

"Townsville" Main St. Design

Reimagining of Prof. Newtonium's House

... In 2005, I received the Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for Background Design". It was a great year for Cartoon Network as we swept the Emmys that year.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

"The Mouse That Soared", originally known as "Wing Nuts", is a CG animated short produced by a large group of talented artist that used to live in Portland, OR and work at the CG division of Laika Studios. This short has won close to 50 awards to date and screens at film festivals all around the country and around the world.

The main cast of characters, 2 young bluebirds, share a nest on the rooftop of a steam-powered sawmill in the forest of Central Oregon. They are supposed to be brothers, though many people assume they are a married or gay couple. Which ever is funnier works for me!

About the artist, El Frederico

2-time Emmy Award winning artist & background designer. CalArts 1989-90. I started my career in Animation in 1990 as an animator/character layout artist on the 2nd season of the Simpsons. I ended up becoming a designer and have been designing backgrounds for a living. I've been lucky enough to work at all the big studios in Hollywood: Klasky-Csupo, Warner Bros, Disney, Fox, MGM, Hanna-Barbera, DreamWorks TV, Sony, Jim Henson Studios, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Laika. I currently work as a VisDev Artist and Senior Designer on several new projects at Reel FX studios in Dallas, TX and own/operate a freelance design studio, "Frederick Gardner Design". Interested in contacting me for freelance? Email me at ElFrederico3@gmail.com.
Frederick Gardner's blog is updated from Los Angeles, CA and Dallas, TX.